It's evident that the Nipmuc boys soccer team is on a mission, and so far this postseason no team has been able to stand in the Warriors' way.

By Jared Keene/Daily News Correspondent

WORCESTER — It's evident that the Nipmuc boys soccer team is on a mission, and so far this postseason no team has been able to stand in the Warriors’ way.

Nipmuc is the defending Division 3 state runner-up after falling to champion Wayland in the state final. But with the way Nipmuc is currently playing, it’s clear the Warriors have every intention of making it back to the state championship game, and this time finishing the job in the end.

In its first two tournament games, No. 3 Nipmuc scored 11 combined goals, and once again the Warriors' attacking ability was on full display when they took on previously unbeaten No. 2 AMSA in a Division 3 Central semifinal.

Behind two goals each from sophomores Jordan Andrade and Alex Ott, Nipmuc jumped out to an early lead on its way to a convincing 5-1 victory at Foley Stadium on Wednesday evening.

“You know, for us, who doesn't want to go for the ultimate prize of winning it all?” Warriors coach Chris Hadfield said. “We want to just take it one game at a time and not try to look too far ahead in the tournament. It's about one game at a time and just plugging away. But we want to win a sectional championship, we want to get back to the state final, and we want to win the state title, for sure.”

With the win, Nipmuc (17-2-2) will meet either top-seeded Holy Name or fourth-seeded Bartlett in the sectional final, which will be held at Nashoba on Friday at 3 p.m. The Eagles finished up a tremendous campaign 17-1-2, and coach Ralph Bono was thrilled with his team's season despite suffering its first loss at the most important time.

“They were the better team today,” he said. “They were a lot faster than we were and they finished. We had a couple mistakes early that kind of put us in a hole, but all in all, I'm proud of the guys, they had a great season. I mean, 17-1-2 is nothing to sneeze at and I wouldn't change anything right now. It was a great season.”

The Warriors’ speed, creativity, and skill gave AMSA problems throughout the entire game, as the Eagles rarely found a solution to keep Nipmuc at bay on the turf.

With junior attacking midfielder Jackson Bukunt operating centrally behind a front three of primarily Ott, Andrade, and senior Nathan Vance, the Warriors were a constant threat going forward, especially in the attacking final third. Nipmuc preferred to get the ball out wide, but it also showed it could play through the middle, using its pace to often put AMSA's defense under pressure.

The result was a dynamic offensive showing, something that the Warriors have become accustomed to in the postseason, having scored 16 goals now in three games.

“We're used to playing on turf at club and a lot of us play together, so we have the chemistry to build up our attack,” Bukunt, who assisted on three goals, said. “We move the ball very well as a team and our team chemistry together is almost unstoppable once we get going.”

“We have really good finishers, and a lot of guys who can finish so we always produce a lot of goals in every game,” added Ott.

Nipmuc got things going right away, taking a 1-0 lead in the second minute when Andrade put away a rebound after Bukunt's header was well saved by Eagles goalie Andrew Cash (8 saves).

In the 19th minute, it became 2-0 on an AMSA own goal before the Warriors essentially put the game away in the 40th minute when Ott found himself behind the defense, charged forward on the left, and finished right-footed near post from a tight angle.

“This season, we've played a lot of teams that have played defensively against us,” Hadfield said. “So, it's kind of been my focus this year to basically start strong, and if you get an early goal they have to come out of their shell sometimes. That allows us to play more freely. And then 2-0 is the worst scoreline to have in soccer, but 3-0 at the half is much nicer, so that was big for us to get that late goal there.”

Nipmuc's defense also stood out, as the Warriors — led by center backs Collin Flanagan and Tim Carey — limited AMSA's quality scoring chances, forcing the Eagles to often shoot from distance. And while star striker Patrick Langton ended up scoring for AMSA — which had scored 107 goals in 19 games coming in — Nipmuc was able to control the threat of Langton and fellow star Calvin Fillios.

“We've been working on our defense a lot,” Flanagan said. “Our communication has really helped and it’s really developed toward the end of the season. It's coming together really well.”

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